Raiders QB Derek Carr gushes about new weapons Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper

It is just mid summer talk, but Derek Carr is already enamored with his two new additions to the receiving corp. Both Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree are already making their mark on the 2nd year QB who recently went on 95.7 The Game and gave praise to his new offensive weapons.

Carr heaped praise onto his new rookie receiver Amari Cooper, gushing about his abilities and work ethic. It is just more of the same stuff that we have heard from anybody who has ever known Cooper but it is still refreshing to hear about the excellent chemistry developing already between him and Derek Carr.

"He [Cooper] is ridiculous in and out of his breaks," Carr said. "His style of play is perfect for this league. He’s good at getting on toes and creating separation. He’s good at when the ball is in his hands making those fast-twitch movements to make a guy go one way so he can take it to the house. It’s just little things that honestly people don’t even notice."

It is rare to find such impressive qualities in players as young as Amari Cooper and Derek Carr. Both players are leading by example with their hard work and determination to get better. We still don't know what either one truly will have to offer the NFL, but if they don't succeed it wont be because of a lack of effort.

Even as good of work ethic as Derek Carr has already shown, he believes that Amari Cooper's work ethic is even better. That is saying something pretty impressive considering that every time you hear Carr speak he is talking about the hard work he is putting in with various teammates. However, Cooper is even surprising him with his determination to get better.

"His work ethic is second to none," Carr said. "I was throwing with him as soon as mini-camp was over so we can get more reps in, and our plan was to throw a couple more times, but he texted me that night. He said, ‘hey, let’s throw at least three more times. I need to get this one route right.’ Just him telling me that kind of stuff, it blew my mind."

If that wasn't enough to get you excited for the 2015 season, Carr went on to speak very highly of free agent acquisition Michael Crabtree as well. There has been a lot said throughout Crabtree's career of a prima donna attitude and questionable locker room traits. Carr didn't have anything like that to say about Crabtree though, in fact his opinion is the opposite.

"Crabtree has been awesome, not only just on the field, but in the locker room," Derek Carr said about his new teammate. "He’s such a great teammate. I love the guy. I talk to him all the time. We’re always talking about the game. We’re always talking ball. We’re always talking routes, concepts, and what we’re going to do during the game, and hand signals, all those things. He is a football junkie. He’s been a nice guy, a nice addition to our team."

Personally, I think his quotes on Crabtree are way more encouraging. Amari Cooper's talent and character speak for itself but Michael Crabtree has been a bit of an enigma so far in his playing career. He turned off a lot of Raiders fans by laughing with relief when the Raiders skipped him for Darrius Heyward-Bey in the 2011 draft and has had numerous times in San Francisco where he came off badly to the public.

If it has turned out that his diva antics were exaggerated then he could turn out to be a very good addition for this team. Derek Carr certainly seems to think so anyway. We already knew what Amari Cooper would bring in terms of attitude, but it's a great bonus to have Crabtree come in with the worker mentality too.

None of this matters if these guys don't back it up on the field come September, but it is always good to hear positives about the team even if it is in the summer before training camp has begun. Then again, that could be exactly why Derek Carr is saying this stuff too. I mean, why wouldn't he talk up his teammates right now?

There are only a couple of months left before real football begins, hopefully when that day comes these words will be proven true on the field and not just summer hyperbole from Derek Carr. He has a way of saying the right things for sure, but come September let's all hope he has a way of doing the right things too.